Industrial Policy Action Plan 2016/17 - 2018/19

The Industrial Policy Action Plan is a product of the Economic Sectors, Employment and Infrastructure Development (ESEID) Cluster of the South African national government. Both its preparation and its implementation rest not just with the DTI -although this department has a core responsibility in this regard - but with all the economic departments which are part of the cluster and with many other outside contributors.    

The launch of this year’s eighth edition of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP 2016/17 – 2018/19) takes place in tough economic times, characterised by
depressed global economic conditions and great uncertainty. The lingering effects of the great global recession continue to be felt worldwide; most obviously reflected by stagnant demand from developed and developing countries alike.     The contraction and ‘rebalancing’ of the Chinese economy towards a greater focus on domestic demand has had significant and negative consequences for commodity-exporting countries. Growth projections for many African countries will  most likely fall below expectations, mainly as a result of the collapse of the oil price and the wider slump in primary commodity demand.

All of these adverse factors underline yet again the crucial point that the National    
Development Plan (NDP), the National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF) and  successive IPAP iterations have repeatedly emphasised (albeit with differing  
emphases): namely the pressing need for structural change in the economy to  break out of commodity dependence and move to a more diversified base in which 
increasing value-addition and export-intensity come to define South Africa’s growth.    
trajectory.